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Howl

As we celebrate the birthday of beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg this month, create a story based on a line or phrase from his famous poem, “Howl.” What story could you write about “moviehouses’ rickety rows,” a “catatonic piano” or “a yellow paper rose twisted on a wire hanger in the closet”?

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Allen Ginsberg, Miami Bookfair International
Allen Ginsberg, Miami Bookfair International

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked. —Allen Ginsberg, “Howl”

As we celebrate the birthday of beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg this month, create a story based on a line or phrase from his famous poem, “Howl.” What story could you write about “moviehouses’ rickety rows,” a “catatonic piano” or “a yellow paper rose twisted on a wire hanger in the closet”? Choose a phrase and use it in your story either literally or figuratively.

Read the full poem here.

 

For more inspiration, visit our database of writing prompts.

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